YouTube - Week 19 - Noah Rubin

 

There is always one more thing to watch. One more autoplay video queued up with a juicy title and thumbnail that you want to see. The algorithm knows that it can keep you on the app for hours and hours with short video after short video. Fast paced, attention grabbing, interesting, funny, anything you could possibly want at 2am - they have it. 

YouTube knows so much about you, that even when you think you’ve ‘finished youtube’ as many of us thought at one time during this Pandemic, I’m sure, there is always a new channel, new genre, or even new YouTube. 

It’s funny to think about, but your YouTube homepage is one of millions - maybe even billions. The YouTubers that you know and love to be famous and influential are nobodys to most other YouTube users. I live on a small corner of YouTube, for example, that includes: Comedy, Tech, Commentary, Politics, Minecraft, and the occasional 20 second video from 2007 that has 10 million views on it. The creators that I know and watch with hundreds of thousands of subscribers are probably strangers to you- (this is just going through my subscriptions and picking random people from the top) Andrei Terbea, ABL, Austin McConnell, Berm Peak, boyinaband, carykh, cherdleys, Cody Ko - you get the point. You probably don’t know them- if you do drop a comment!

In any event, my point is that there is always more to YouTube. After finishing every video a YouTuber has made in the last 5 years, there is always another creator that YouTube will suggest to you that you end up to like even more. It’s really crazy how much content there is out there, and how little of it we’ve seen. YouTube’s algorithm uses this fact and everything it knows about you (it really knows everything about you - remember Google = YouTube…) to serve you the best videos every time and keep you on the app way past your bedtime.

 

Zach Klein- week 19- The Heat are Back in Business!!!

 

    The Miami Heat are back on track. The Heat have had a very rough start to the NBA season with many players out of the lineup due to injury and COVID protocols. Our best player Jimmy Butler was out for a good stretch of games as well, hence why he wasn’t named an NBA all-star. The Heat’s record was as bad as 7-14 at one point and the team looked like a disaster. Getting Butler back and other key players helped the Heat look like the team from last year that made the NBA finals. Since Butler has returned from COVID protocols the Heat are 10-5 and now have a record of 16-17 and stand at 5th place in the Eastern Conference, not far behind the top of the pack. The Heat had their best-looking game of the season last game where they defeated the team with the best record in the league, the Utah Jazz, by a score of 124-116. The Heat were missing two key players in Tyler Herro and Avery Bradley, but it didn’t matter. The Jazz had won 23 of their last 25 games going into the game, but the Heat knew that they could take them down if they played to their potential. 

The Miami Heat are now on a 5 game win streak (the second-longest current streak in the NBA) and are finding their groove. As a huge Heat fan, I was worried and frustrated during the start of the season. Now, I can relax knowing we have the potential to make it back to the finals and even win it all. Taking down the hottest team in the league on our win streak will give us all the confidence to keep winning.

The only concern I have for the rest of our season is that I feel like we need another big man that can help support our star Bam Adebayo in the frontcourt. I think the Heat needs to trade Kelly Olynyk along with other assets to get a big man who can free up space for Bam and crash the boards. Olynyk is a very aggressive player, but I just think he makes too many dumb decisions in a game and it is getting hard for me to watch him. I am excited to see how the rest of our season turns out! Do you think the Heat can make it back to the finals this year and even win it all?

Ariel Magin- Week 19- "The Second Coming"

    Our second coming is upon us. The boy’s men’s soccer team’s season has come to an end and enough time has elapsed since then to allow us to physically return to school. I will be returning on Monday, although I’m not as excited as I was for the first return. This time around feels pretty mundane and uneventful. Although, it will be nice to see out the last couple of months as high school students not behind a laptop.

    I feel very indifferent right now, but maybe that’s just I got some upsetting news today. My friends told me that the world is in fact round and not flat. At first, I refused to believe them, but once we went on a rocket and they showed me the Earth from space I believed them. Speaking of space, we will now be taking up all the recently empty space in the hallways and classrooms. What I’m most excited about is having a more concrete lunch schedule and having the gym right there. With online school, I found it more difficult to go to the gym as the full day behind a screen really drained me and it seemed like a hassle to get ready and drive there. With my return to school, the convenience of having the gym right there to embrace me after a hard day’s night will be much appreciated. One downside, which is an inadvertent upside, is waking up early again. Waking up early sucks, pardon my French, but it will make me more accountable for my sleep. Online school has seen my sleep schedule go right, left, upside down, and inverted.

Sienna Tohar - week 19 - Do You Think You Can Live in Another Country?

 Okay, there’s a lot to consider when answering this question, but honestly, yes.

Now, mind you, this isn’t me trying to sound independent or anything, trust me, sometimes I get nervous just driving to a different town alone, but I feel like moving to a different country has all to do with being in the right and ready mindset.

Every place has its own energy with people and their mannerisms, attitudes, and behavior. I think when moving to a different country, it’s all about observing the behavior of those in that environment and being able to catch onto it rather than being seen or labeled as “the foreigner.” Like “flowing” with the rest of a certain place and feeling at ease with it, or a connection. Now, I don’t know if I would be ready to move to a country where English isn’t spoken (just YET). I already have trouble socializing in English, could you imagine me attempting to do that in another language?! But, nothing is impossible. I’d love to be fluent in multiple languages (to me, it’s almost like a magic power, except it's just for communication), but it’s easy to say that. I think a language barrier would surely scare me off, but if it’s a country where English is still spoken, I think it would be a lot less threatening. However, if the day comes when I’m fluent in another language from another country, it would be tempting to want to visit a lot and maybe even move there! Never say never!!

You also have to take into account how you’ll make a living, get used to the currency, culture, dialect, know what’s rude, what’s customary, politics, immigrant legalities, etc. I think having family in a certain place would also be important if you’re headed somewhere totally alone, so that if anything, there’s someone to go to if you really need help. And, of course, having a connection to and a passion for a certain place will drive you to move there even more. 

I think especially because of this pandemic, the thirst for travel, exploration, and change has surely built up, prompting many people to go on global and national trips. I know I've missed travelling, as I love learning about other cultures and places, documenting the trip as I go. Through my eyes and the advice I’ve been given, one can read however many books, watch as many documentaries, and research as much as they can on a certain place, but there’s nothing like experiencing it in the flesh, taking it in, and truly getting to know it for yourself firsthand. That’s living. My mom always told me that the greatest gift she would ever give me is the gift of travelling the world for myself (ideally before college), but of course Covid swept in and stopped that from happening (I tell myself perhaps it’s because it just wasn’t the right time yet). But, eventually, I’d like to do it! The world is so beautiful in its diversity of culture, people, and places, and for me, it’d be a shame to just stick around in the same place if I have the chance to change that and educate myself through experience. Besides, there is always something you can learn and take with you from another place.

So, this is already getting kind of long (this happens every time)! The bottom line is, yes I could see myself living in another country. Yes, it would be kind of intimidating, and no, it won’t be an easy change/transition. But, I think to make such a radical decision like that would require a serious amount of ambition, passion, readiness, and ease! If the time ever comes, I know it’ll be the right one! 

Would you ever move to another country? Would you like to travel the world? 

I'm a DJ now - Josh Rosenblatt Week 19

 Over the past 2 weeks I have mastered the art of the DJ.  I was bored one day and I decided to go through the XBOX shop and I found this game called Fuser.  It looked interesting with its short promotional video and made it seem as though you could mix up any songs you want.  Now, that didn’t end up being the case, but it intrigued me to the point where I tried the demo and bought the $35 game.  

It starts you off by walking you through the tutorial of the game, which I only just completed today.  You begin by learning how to time different songs so that when you mix things up, it sounds good together.  There are 4 different discs that you can control, the drums, the base, the instrumentals, and the vocals.  When changing any of these discs for others, you want to do it on a downbeat, which is every 4 beats, so you don’t pick up a song in the middle of a beat.  After learning the basics, you get to mess with different aspects of the game like adding two of the same type of disc from different songs (ie two drums from different songs or two vocals from different songs) or changing the BPM (Beats Per Minute).  

The game does a really good job working with you to make music that anyone would have a good time listening to.  I was able to mix Life is a Highway by Rascal Flatts and Where the Hood At by DMX and it sounded amazing.  There are over 100 songs to choose from, so it’s not unlimited, yet I rarely ever find myself mixing the same songs together more than once.  There's so many different genres of songs that it's a completely different experience each time you load into a set.  I’ve always had this love for music and appreciation for DJs, but now I get to fulfil my mini dream of becoming one.  I fully recommend this game for anyone with a love for all kinds of music.  It’s on XBOX PS4/5 and PC for sure and possibly other consoles as well.

https://www.fuser.com/en-us

Atlantic Spanish mackerel- Week 19- Gabriel Winter

     Yes I am writing my blog about a species of fish but honestly who is surprised. I have done a similar post about the large mouth bass and how it is a very underrated fish but this is a different type of post. This fish is a saltwater fish that has a special place in my heart because not only are they a fish that fights really hard and gives a sense of gratification to the angler but you are also allowed to harvest 15 a day!

    I am a huge fisherman and a huge fish eater and no fish compares to the taste of Spanish Mackerel. I know everyone out there who fishes is going to think that I am crazy because the hogfish is considered to be the best tasting fish but to those people I say stop being a follower. The Spanish mackerel has a smooth taste and so much flavor that you would think the fish is still swimming. 

    Now lets get to the fishing part. The Spanish mackerel will fight so hard that you will think you hooked a shark. The best part about it is that even though they fight hard they are not very difficult to catch and an experienced angler can get the fish in the boat almost every time with the correct tackle. So instead of everyone sitting on their butts I say why not go get some Mackerel!

https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/spanish-mackerel/

Week 19: Amy Kraft - It’s been an eventful week

        I was going to write about how I have seemed to get myself into the situation of having a wife, I know so early in life. Just kidding, my so-called wife is Dana since we spend almost all of our time together, but after I told her my idea she stole it, so this is my next best blog idea for this week. So this week has kinda been something else, so let’s break it down. Staring with Monday, my day seems to be somewhat of a blur in my mind except for nighttime when Zoey, Dana, Gabe and I drove to Crumble cookie, which you can read about in Dana’s blog from this week, with the doors off. It was very windy, but also fun. 

Then on Tuesday, which also seems to be for the most part a blur (I think I have some form of memory loss because this happens quite often) except for my tennis match. My tennis match was so boring because the girl was so bad that I even managed to ace her on my second serve. I have no relocation of that happening (again with my bits of memory loss), but my coach was luckily there to witness the point. Oh, and now that I am trying to remember my week to write this blog, I now remember that after my tennis match I went out to dinner with Coby, and then we went to Gabe’s house to play with his dogs. 

        Wednesday was my worst day of the week as the only thing I did that day was my stupid FLVS biology notes for my DBA (for those who don't know what that is, it is an oral test over the phone with my teacher) and then I had a biology class at 7 pm. Also on Wednesday, I managed to mess up baking a cake out of a Betty Crocker cake mix box when I didn't even want cake; I wanted dessert but no one was able to go with me. 

Then on Thursday, I had physical therapy in the morning, which I love because I always have the best conversations with Juan my physical therapist. After that, I had my bio DBA during lunch, then physics class, and then my tennis match. My tennis match was so fun. First off, this was the same team we played against in our last basketball game and at the basketball game, the tennis coach and athletic director were there, so on Thursday they walk up to Lenny, Dana’s dad, and our basketball coach and ask before they saw me,  if the tall blonde is playing. “Tall blonde?” he said, not knowing they were referring to me because I’m not tall. So they then describe me as the player who scored like 30 pts., who Lenny then said yes I am playing and asked why they referred to me as tall and they said “I guess she just jumps really high.” Then during my match, I dove for the ball, which is a force of habit from volleyball, and because I had so much momentum, I rolled backward and got some airtime and landed on my feet. Every one was so concerned that I got injured, but I was fine; nothing hurt and there was no blood. The other team is even kindly sending me the video of my match so I am excited to see my tumble. Then I played doubles with Atara, and because we won, the whole team won. Then after my match, Dana, Zoey, Gabe, Josh, and I went to dinner at this new Italian restaurant, Vivo (it’s really good. I recommend going). So this was my second time at this restaurant, and the first time was on Sunday with Liv and our waiter was also like the host and he was this older Italian guy who was really funny and he remembered me this time and honestly now my life is complete. After dinner, Zoey and I slept over at Dana’s house. 

At last, it’s Friday, and all-day I was asking for something interesting to happen to me so I would have something to write my blog on, even though I was able to ramble enough to make my week sound super interesting. So today was Purim, and Dana, Zoey, and I went in dressed as Gabe. Then after Purim, I went on Gabe’s boat with obviously Gabe, Jesse, and Dylan. This was my first time I was in the ocean on a boat, and after today I can confirm that I get very seasick. While the guys spent the 4.5 hours fishing, I spent my time dying of nausea and feeding the fish on several occasions, if you know what I mean. And now after all that, I am sitting in bed writing my blog and you guys are all caught up on my week even though you probably don't care. 

Mattan Masri- Week 19: Creating Just to Create

 I would consider myself an artistic person. My house is decorated with numerous sculptures I’ve built from clay, I enjoy building and painting miniatures in my free time, and I always make my own costumes for Halloween and Purim, from scratch if I can, but sometimes I just modify a pre-existing outfit. Recently I finished a sword prop that took me at least 15 hours to fully construct and paint, including lots of cutting, sanding, gluing, and sculpting. When I show things I’ve made to other people, it’s not uncommon for their first response to be something along the lines of “have you ever thought about making money off of these” or “you should consider starting a store for the stuff you make.” I’m not necessarily opposed to making income from my works, but I kind of have mixed feelings about this being one of the most immediate responses.

   Again, I’m in no way against artists turning their craft into a business, I can’t say I haven’t thought about it, and it’s really amazing that it can be a viable career path for someone to support themselves through creating art. I’m just a little concerned by what it says about our society when the first response to someone demonstrating skill in something they’re passionate about is “how can you profit from this?” It’s great that creating art is an achievable way to make a living, but I’m afraid of art just becoming another form of work, I’m afraid that we might start valuing it based on how much money it can make, I’m afraid that painting, and singing, and sculpting and dancing will become just a way to make money instead of the things that humans just do because they’re beautiful.

To reiterate: It’s phenomenal that we live in a time where creating art is a valid career, and it’s not like an artist is somehow worse or evil or something if their main motivation to create is just to support themselves and make money, but I’m concerned that focusing on art as a business might eventually erode the intrinsic value of making art for no other reason than being passionate about it and creating for the sake of creating. Does that make sense? What do you think is the right balance between artistic endeavors being regarded as fully valid as both a hobby and a job?

Liann Rozenberg Week 19 - Solo Travel

    My parents always taught me to be kind, responsible, and successful in school. They always told me to learn as much as I can, but the best way to learn is by travel. While school is where we are supposed to retain most of our knowledge, sometimes there are better, more unique ways to learn. Being in a classroom (or through online learning) confines a student and there is not much opportunity to learn about “the real world.”

    Traveling is extremely educational and provides so many amazing opportunities to learn new things. From age 14, I started to travel by myself. I went to Toronto and stayed with my cousins. I believe it is the best way to also gain independence and maturity. Traveling allowed me to open my mind and engage in so many different opportunities that school or my home could not provide.

    While I used to travel alone to Canada every summer, when I was 15, I went to New York with my friend Tamar. It was just us two and I truly have never had such a life-changing experience. We were there for four days, walking around the city and taking the subway everywhere. That’s when I learned about the convenience of public transportation, something that Florida is lacking. When I was 16, I went to Los Angeles with another friend. I met her there, as she was living there for the summer, so the flight alone was new because I had never been to LAX. 

    All these different experiences that I am so grateful for have helped shaped who I am today. My independence and maturity I believe come from my travels and I would love to continue to explore more places soon enough.

Do you travel alone?

https://www.smartertravel.com/single-travel-tips-going-solo/ 

Gaya Avidor Week 19 - My Final Message

 Sorry about the title of this blog being sort of dark. The final message I am referring to is my graduation speech. The other week, we all received the notification that we must all begin writing up the initial draft of our graduation speeches. I don’t know about you guys, but this really was a wake up call for me. I think that it was the first time I realized that we are actually second semester seniors, graduating in just a couple of months. 

For me, this speech is something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time now. I was only able to attend the Class of 2019’s  graduation ceremony, because last year’s obviously wasn’t possible, and listened to each one of them say their speech. Since then, I thought about what it would be and feel like to one day be giving my own. Truthfully, I don’t know where to start. I looked at the guidelines that were posted in the assignment, but for some reason I haven’t been able to begin writing just yet. 

The realization that we will be beginning a new chapter in our lives, so soon, is definitely bittersweet, to say the least. On one hand, I want to talk about all the positive things that I’ve experienced throughout high school, but I also feel the need to include challenges that I overcame even when times were tough. I feel like I have yet to figure out a way to incorporate all of the things I want to say in a speech that will flow nicely but not be too overbearing and wordy. Hopefully soon I will be able to find the clarity that I need to just sit down and write this speech, so that I can at least have the main thoughts that I want to include, on paper.

Chaya Brenner - Week 19 - Purim and friendship

 I grew up really religious and practicing when it comes to Judaism. Purim has always been a super big deal for me because when I was a little kid my mom didn’t let me celebrate Halloween and I considered it my substitute. But now it doesn’t feel half as exciting to me. It’s still fun to dress up, I find that it almost always is! Though as a kid I even remember listening to the megillah as a fun activity, now it’s just boring.

Maybe it’s just one of those I kind of blindly loved religion as a child things, but it always felt so exciting! I had this one friend who I spent every Purim with and he and I always had the best time together. Now it just feels less fun. Though I’ll admit Donna Klein has revived a tiny bit of my Purim spirit!

Last year when my friends and I all dressed up together it was the most fun Purim I’ve had since like the 5th grade. I think maybe friends make the holidays more fun. They seem to make everything better. The most boring megillah reading is infinitely more fun with Bella whispering to me the entire time, the weirdest school activities become actually bearable when I get to be with the people who make me smile. 

I’m going to be honest I didn’t really know where this was going until I started writing. Now I’m happy, friendship is one of the most important things in the entire world to me. I can’t imagine a life without the amazing people I’ve been lucky enough to consider my friends these last four years.

What does friendship mean to you?

Pick A Poet blog because I accidentally wrote a normal blog last week oops - Week 19 - Zoey

            Ummmm I don’t really get this poem. I mean I get it, but it seems like there should be a deeper meaning than what is on the surface. This poem is about Natasha and her mom having a NORMAL day. They are literally just sitting at their house cleaning and doing stuff that people would do on a normal day like maybe a Sunday when not a lot is going on. 

The beginning of the poem seemed like it was going to be really deep. It started out saying that “we mourn the broken things.” I think the “we” in this statement refers to people in general. However, the “we” in the last sentence refers to Natasha and her mom. Anyway, in the beginning, I thought she was going to compare the fact that people mourn broken items to some other type of deep thing that people mourn. Like dead people, or a past version of ourselves (our childhoods), a state of mind that we once had, or even a place we once lived.

My attempt to predict the poem was somewhat a failure because the poem actually turned out to be more about the feeling of disconnection between two loved ones. Natasha and her mother seem to be trying to pass the time with meaningless housekeeping while they wait for some sort of reunion with a loved one. Natasha listens for passing cars and hopes for mail from someone who is away. I think the ending connects back to the beginning about mourning broken things in a subtle way because Natasha seems to be mourning the broken connection between her and her distant loved one. 

Notice how in the beginning when I first started writing I said I didn't get this poem. I figured it out as I was typing this. That always happens to me!! 

Dana Levine -- Week 19 -- Living With a Psychopath (& cookie review/recommendation)

 If you haven’t realized by now, Amy and I practically live together. We are on all of the sports teams together, do classes together, got our ears pierced together, and many more day-today things. If I have to go to CVS or Target to get something, I will always text her to come with me, and the same goes for her. We even write the same blogs some weeks, because our lives are the same…

Now, it is nice to have Amy fill in the spot of my siblings while they are at college, but it does come with a very. VERY. high cost. I have to deal with Amy unmedicated...Most of the time, Amy will remember to take her meds for ADHD, but when she doesn’t, it is a full show...At this point, I’m pretty used to it, though--I have learned to zone her out for the most part. The best way I can describe it is to imagine someone who just had 5 cups of coffee all within one hour. Sometimes I contemplate keeping some of her meds with me for when she forgets or refuses to take them, but I know that’s illegal...

Something that Amy and I are known for is our food excursions. We are constantly discovering the best new--mainly dessert--places. The only problem is that once we discover a good one, we will go there every night of the week no matter how far it is. We recently discovered a new place called Crumbl; it is a cookie place that also sells ice cream, but they seem to be sold out of almost every ice cream flavor whenever we go, so we haven’t tried it yet:( But, the cookies are AMAZING, and they change flavors every week!!! This week they have a molten cake cookie, and it is INSANE, but they always sell out of the flavors by the end of the day because they make new batches of dough every morning. I was going to recommend this place, but now that I think about it, that would mean they sell out quicker, so in that case, these cookies are nasty--definitely don’t go try them…

But if you do decide to try these disgusting cookies, here are some pictures...

Sarah Louis Week 19- Important Visit

Important Visit

    Today I was eating lunch with my family and my parents were talking about the Pope visiting a Holocaust survivor. I went online after I finished eating to read more about the visit. Typically the Pope rarely leaves the Vatican, let alone conducts private visits to citizens in Italy. He visited Holocaust survivor Edith Bruck in her home in Italy and the two of them spoke for an hour. Bruck had the courage to tell the Pope her story about being in multiple concentration camps and spoke about the importance of education pertaining to the Holocaust so it never happens again.

    According to the Vatican, the main reason why the Pope decided to visit Mrs. Bruck was because of the rising Anti-Semitism happening around the world. When I scroll through Instagram, organizations like Stand With Us and Stop Antisemitism continuously post Anti-Semitic acts happening around the world in order to bring to light that hate against the jews has not gone away. 

    This is exactly why this visit was so monumental. The Jews are only a small portion of the global population. Therefore we need as much support as possible from other cultural and religious groups in order to combat this rising white supremacy and extremism from Anti Semites. The Pope and Catholic church demonstrated through this visit that they are allies with the Jews and that is such an important message as we all need to unite to create a more peaceful world.

Do you think Anti-Semitism will ever go away?

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/pope-francis-visits-holocaust-survivor-in-rome-659644    

Sienna Tohar -- week 18 -- pick-a-poet - Leila Chatti

 Leila Chatti makes it clear that she’s not shy about addressing her medical afflictions within her work (and I find it really amazing and inspiring). “MRI” discusses an experience of hers while getting an MRI scan in which she observes those around her and her own situation. There’s a negative mood set from the very beginning as she describes that she “[wears] a gown that ties in the back” and “this is how [she] knows [she’s] sick.” Rather than focusing on the positive idea of her addressing her medical problem, she’s consumed and distracted by the ages of those around her, assisting with the scan. 

She notes that “the nurse can’t be more than a few years older than [her], smiling as if [they’re] friends while [she grips] closed the gape of [her] frock,” highlighting her discomfort with the scenario. She reflects back on certain activities from childhood when mentioning how “it’s a bit like a grotesque sleepover,” with her in the “nightdress and the nurse making jokes.” And though the nurse is treating her well and kindly, “fetching [her] a blanket to throw over [her] knees,” she can’t help but “think these things,” and associate them together, “because [she] is young,” and might feel out of place being in that place at that time, especially at her age, getting an MRI. 

Chatti goes on to mention that “the nurse waves to a technician behind the glass-- a boy,” and then corrects herself that he’s “a man,” still thinking from that young child’s perspective (perhaps wondering what she’s even doing there). She says that he asked her what she wanted to listen to “the way a boy does on a date… or at a party where he knows everyone,” once again exhibiting behavior of the youth she’s a part of, uncomfortable with the normalcy of everyone else around her except for herself (due to her own health). She mentions that she says nothing as she slides in with her, “arms by her side as if slipping into the sleeve of a sleeping bag and it were simply [her] friends whispering in the next room, trying not to disturb [her].” 

Much of Chatti’s discomfort is hinted at in “MRI” along with the theme of young age, I believe to emphasize the odd emotion of feeling out of place in a time of her life in which she’s supposed to be thriving and healthy as a young individual. Instead, she’s left in awkward situations where the nurses helping her mirror her in age, observing everything so much as if wondering ‘Why is it that I’m here and you’re there,’ sadly and pessimistically.  I find it truly sad since she didn’t choose to have to live her life that way and deal with her medical concerns (and not feel “normal’ because of it). 

Ariel Magin- Week 18 Pick-A-Poet Dick Allen "The Adult Section"

     The Adult Section is another reminder of why I enjoy Dick Allen’s poetry so much. It reads like a book, not like some pretentious poem trying to confuse the reader. Anyways, the subject matter is much more PG than I initially anticipated. The poem is about a child who is 11 finally able to access the adult section of the library. He is taken aback by the sheer quantity of books and size which seemed to be able to “crush two babies with one blow.” Now that’s not a very nice thought. 

    The whole poem is from a childlike perspective as seen by the description of the towering shelves and “those huge stern books.” The kid takes us on a journey of an important event in his life. It can be inferred that he is in this library quite often, so he must’ve been looking forward to being able to enter the adult section for a while. The experience is almost mystical for him as at one point he hears the books calling out “seek wisdom, seek wisdom, seek wisdom, seek wisdom, seek wisdom.” Now of course the books didn’t actually call out to him, but childlike wonder often adds bits of fantasy to moments such as these. At the end of his visit, the boy checked out six books, the maximum, and carried them out into the world triumphantly “sure that the weight of the world had come into [his] arms.” The fearful and anticipatory entry into the adult section, the wonder and appreciation of the books, and the acceptance of the task at hand all metaphorically stood for this boy’s entry into adulthood.

DON'T LOOK BACK (PAP) - Week 18 - Noah Rubin

For this semester of Pick A Poet, I decided to stick with Kay Ryan because I personally just love her concise and meaningful poetry. For this week, I decided to share her poem called, “DON'T LOOK BACK” because I really connected with her sentiment.

The poem’s main idea is that there is a mental clash between looking back and keeping your head forward. While there is no reference to people or human nature in the poem specifically, Ryan uses a continued metaphor of a fish and a goose to represent the 2 mentalities. Her idea is that a fish can't look back, move its neck, while a goose has the choice to turn his neck in all directions. “Fish cannot recklessly swivel their heads” but the “S-shaped necked goose” can clearly look back. I personally loved how Ryan used the ideas of a fish and a goose to demonstrate the difference between looking back and looking forward. It would’ve been so much easier to just tell an anecdote in order to relay this messaging, but it is so much more thought provoking to use animals as an extended metaphor.

A fish is a “torpido of disinterest”, this is the carefree, easygoing, and forward thinking person. But a goose represents those who dread their past or are even scared of their past (most normal people). Ryan relays this when she writes that “if she looks back acknowledges losses and if she doesn't also loses.” If the goose doesn't look back, he is merely a fish, “rely[ing] on the odds for survival.” There is a balancing act of looking forward and looking back. Learning from our past mistakes and understanding how we can improve the future.